Orwellian Barton forced to train alone by Newcastle

02 August 2011 04:00

Joey Barton evoked George Orwell, author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four, as he delivered further commentary on his fall-out with Newcastle who forced him to train alone on Tuesday.

Barton was told on Monday he could leave the Premier League team on a free transfer after his stormy relationship with the St James's Park hierarchy reached breaking point.

The midfielder was unhappy with Newcastle's decision to allow captain Kevin Nolan to join West Ham during the close-season and his mood wasn't improved by the recent breakdown of talks over a new contract.

The 28-year-old showed his frustrations with Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and the club's directors with a series of angry posts on Twitter.

And he took to the social networking site again Tuesday, writing: "Made to train alone today, how predictable."

Just before that he quoted Orwell, posting: "In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act".

Despite his troubled past, it is understood Barton is a wanted man, with several Premier League sides in the running for his services.

Agent Willie McKay has confirmed a couple of top clubs have been in contact, and there has stated there "won't be a problem finding Joey a home".